Pollution

Have you ever looked up at the sky and seen a brownish-gray haze instead of a bright, clear blue? Or walked by a beautiful river only to see that the water was cloudy and smelled a little yucky? Sometimes, you might see me as colorful but messy trash left on a sandy beach or scattered in a green park. I am what’s left over when people make amazing things, drive their cars to school, or simply throw things away. I am the mess that sneaks into the air, the water, and the land where it doesn't belong. For a very long time, people didn't pay much attention to me. They were busy building cities and inventing incredible machines. But I was always there, in the shadows, growing a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger every single day. I am the whisper of smoke from a chimney and the unseen chemicals in a stream. Hello. My name is Pollution.

I’m not new, you know. I’ve been around for a very, very long time. Even in ancient times, I made my mark. About 2,000 years ago, when Roman miners were digging for shiny metals, they released tiny bits of lead dust that floated into the air and traveled for miles. But I was just a small problem back then. I really started to grow up during a time called the Industrial Revolution, which began in the 1700s. People discovered how to use coal to power giant factories and rumbling trains. These factories puffed out thick, black smoke day and night, and I happily filled the air in big cities like London and Manchester. It was like I was a huge, gray blanket covering everything. Things got very serious. In London, for a few scary days starting on December 5th, 1952, a thick, dangerous, foggy smoke covered the entire city. It was so thick you could barely see your own feet. This was called the 'Great Smog,' and it made it very hard for people to breathe. It was a huge wake-up call that showed just how powerful and dangerous I could be. People also saw me in the water. In America, a river in Ohio called the Cuyahoga River was so full of oily, sticky waste from nearby factories that it actually caught fire. Can you imagine a river on fire? It happened several times, with a very famous fire on June 22nd, 1969. These events scared people, but they also made them brave and determined to finally do something about me.

When people truly understood how harmful I could be to them, to animals, and to the beautiful planet they call home, they started working together to clean me up. Their teamwork began to shrink me. On April 22nd, 1970, millions of people all across America celebrated the very first Earth Day. They gathered in parks and streets to show everyone that they cared about the planet and wanted to protect it from me. Their voices were so loud and clear that leaders had to listen. That same year, on December 2nd, 1970, the United States government created a special group called the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. Its whole job was to make rules to keep the air and water clean. Today, smart scientists and engineers are inventing amazing things to fight me. They’ve built cars that run on clean electricity instead of gasoline, and they’ve designed giant windmills and shiny solar panels that make energy from the wind and the sun. You have the power to help, too. By recycling your bottles and paper, turning off lights when you leave a room, and learning all you can about our wonderful planet, you are helping to shrink me every day. Understanding me is the first step to creating a cleaner, healthier world for everyone.